Three Plays: Six Characters in Search of an Author, Henry IV, The Mountain Giants (Oxford World's Classics) (10 page)

DIRECTOR
. Don’t you worry about it, don’t worry. Leave us to find the right tone. And as for the name, if you want Amalia, Amalia let it be; or else we’ll find her another. For now we’ll refer to the characters like this: [
to the
YOUNG ACTOR
] you the Son; [
to the
LEADING LADY
] you, of course, the Stepdaughter.

STEPDAUGHTER
[
excessively amused
]. What, what? That woman there—as me? [
Bursts into laughter
]

DIRECTOR
[
annoyed
]. What’s there to laugh about?

LEADING LADY
[
indignant
]. Nobody has ever dared to laugh at me. I expect to be respected: if not, I’m out of here.

STEPDAUGHTER
. Look, sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you.

DIRECTOR
[
to the
STEPDAUGHTER
]. You should feel honoured to be played by …

LEADING LADY
[
prompt and bitter
]. ‘That woman there’.

STEPDAUGHTER
. But I wasn’t thinking about you, believe me! I was thinking of myself, because I just don’t see myself in you. That’s all. I don’t know, you’re nothing like me.

FATHER
. Precisely so. You see, sir! Our way of expression …

DIRECTOR
. What about your way of expression? Do you think it’s something you’ve got within you, this expression? Not a bit of it!

FATHER
. What! We don’t have our own expression?

DIRECTOR
. Not in the least! Here your expression becomes material, given body and figure, voice and gesture, by the actors—and they, I’d have you know, have given expression to matter of a far higher order, while yours is so insignificant that if it gets by on the stage, all the merit, believe me, will belong to my actors.

FATHER
. I wouldn’t dare to contradict you. But, believe me, it’s horribly distressing for us who are the way you see us, with these bodies, these looks …

DIRECTOR
[
cutting him off, losing patience
]. But we take care of that with make-up, make-up, my good man, at least for the faces.

FATHER
. Yes, but the voice, the gestures …

DIRECTOR
. Oh, now look! You as yourself have no business here. Here it’s the actor who represents you. Let that be the end of it!

FATHER
. I understand, sir. But now perhaps I also begin to see why our author, who saw us alive as we are here and now, decided not to put us on the stage. I don’t want to offend your actors—far from it! But the idea of seeing myself represented by … whoever …

LEADING MAN
[
rising haughtily and coming up to him, followed by laughing young
ACTRESSES
]. By me, if you have no objection.

FATHER
[
honey-voiced and humble
]. I’m honoured, sir [
with a bow
]. Look, I think that however hard this gentleman tries to identify with me, for all his art and all his goodwill … [
He loses the thread
]

LEADING MAN
. Finish it off, finish it off. [
Laughter from the
ACTRESSES
]

FATHER
. Well, I say, his performance, even going heavy with the make-up to look like me … I mean, with his height … [
all the
ACTORS
laugh
] he’ll be hard put to represent me as I really am. It will be more like—forget the way I look—more like his
interpretation
of
what I am, how he feels me—if he feels me—and not the way I feel myself deep down. And I reckon this is something that should be kept in mind by whoever’s called on to judge us.

DIRECTOR
. So now you’re worried about the critics? And I still stood there listening! Let the critics say what they like. We’d do better to think about putting on this play—if we can! [
Stepping aside and looking around
] Come on, come on. Is the set ready yet? [
To the
ACTORS
and
CHARACTERS
] Clear out of the way, out of the way. Let me see. [
He comes down from the stage
] Let’s stop wasting time. [
To the
STEPDAUGHTER
] Do you think the set’s all right like that?

STEPDAUGHTER
. Dunno. Can’t say I recognize it, to be honest.

DIRECTOR
. Come off it! You can’t expect us to reconstruct the back room of the shop, exactly as you know it at Madame Pace’s. [
To the
FATHER
] You said a room with flowered wallpaper?

FATHER
. Yes, sir. White.

DIRECTOR
. Well it’s not white, it’s striped; but it doesn’t matter. I think we’ve got the furniture more or less right. That little table, bring it forward a bit. [
STAGEHANDS
oblige. To the
PROPERTY MAN
] You go and find an envelope, pale blue if possible, and give it to this gentleman. [
Indicating the
FATHER
]

PROPERTY MAN
. An envelope for letters?

DIRECTOR AND FATHER
. Yes, letters, letters.

PROPERTY MAN
. Right away. [
He goes off
]

DIRECTOR
. Come on now. The first scene is with the Young Lady. [
The
LEADING LADY
comes forward
] No, you wait! I said the Young Lady [
indicating the
STEPDAUGHTER
]. You stay there and watch …

STEPDAUGHTER
[
adding immediately
]. How I bring it to life!

LEADING LADY
[
stung
]. But I shall bring it to life as well, don’t worry, once I get started.

DIRECTOR
[
his head in his hands
]. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s stop nattering! Now, the first scene is the Young Lady with Madame Pace. Oh [
looking around as if lost, he gets back on to the stage
], where’s this Madame Pace?

FATHER
. Not with us, sir.

DIRECTOR
. So how do we manage?

FATHER
. But she’s alive like us. She’s alive too.

DIRECTOR
. Yes, but where is she?

FATHER
. Hold on. Let me say something. [
Turning to the
ACTRESSES
] If you ladies would do me the favour of lending me your hats for a moment.

ACTRESSES
[
surprised and amused, in chorus
]. What?—Our hats?—What do you mean?—Why?—How’s that then?

DIRECTOR
. What do you want with the ladies’ hats? [
The
ACTORS
start laughing
]

FATHER
. Oh, nothing. Just to put them on these pegs for a moment. And some of you should be so kind as to take off your coats as well.

ACTORS
[
as above
]. Coats as well—What next?—He must be crazy.

ACTRESSES
[
as above
]. But why?—Only our coats?

FATHER
. To hang them up for a moment … Do me this favour. Would you mind?

ACTRESSES
[
taking off their hats, and some their coats as well; still laughing, they go and hang them on the racks
]. Why not?—Here you are—You know, it’s seriously funny—Should they be on display?

FATHER
. Yes, that’s right, on display, like that.

DIRECTOR
. But can you tell us what it’s all in aid of?

FATHER
. Well, sir, maybe if we dress the set a little better, who knows, she might be attracted by the objects of her trade and come and join us … [
Pointing to the door at the back of the stage
] Look there! Look there!

The door at the back of the stage opens and, taking a few steps forward, in comes
MADAME PACE
,
a monstrously fat harridan, with a showy carrot-coloured woollen wig and a flaming red rose on one side, Spanish-style; heavily made-up, dressed with awkward elegance in gaudy red silk; in one hand is a feather fan, the other is raised to hold a cigarette between two fingers. At the sight of this vision, the
ACTORS
and the
DIRECTOR
dash from the stage with a shout of fear and jump down the steps as if to escape up the aisle. The
STEPDAUGHTER
,
however, hurries to greet
MADAME PACE
respectfully as her employer
.

STEPDAUGHTER
[
running up to her
]. Here she is! Here she is!

FATHER
[
radiant
]. It’s her. Didn’t I tell you? Here she is.

DIRECTOR
[
overcoming his initial amazement, indignant
]. What kind of trickery is this?

LEADING MAN
. What’s going on, anyway?

YOUNG ACTOR
. Where did they get that one from?

YOUNG ACTRESS
. They were keeping her in reserve.

LEADING LADY
. It’s all a conjuring trick.

FATHER
[
quelling the protests
]. Just a moment! Why, in the name of some crude truth, some mere fact, do you want to spoil this miracle of a reality that is brought to birth, evoked, attracted, shaped by the stage itself
^*
—and has more right to live here than you do, because it is far more true than you are. Which of you actresses will play the part of Madame Pace? Well, that’s Madame Pace there! You’ll admit that the actress who plays her will be less true than that woman there, who is Madame Pace in person. Look, my daughter has recognized her and gone straight up to her. Just wait a bit and watch, watch this scene.

Hesitantly, the
DIRECTOR
and the
ACTORS
climb back onto the stage. But already, during the protests of the
ACTORS
and the
FATHER
’
s reply, the scene between the
STEPDAUGHTER
and
MADAME PACE
has begun, in undertones, quietly, in short naturally, as would not normally be possible on a stage. The
ACTORS
,
alerted by the
FATHER
,
turn to watch and see
MADAME PACE
with her hand already under the
STEPDAUGHTER
’
s chin to make her lift her head; hearing
MADAME PACE
talking in a way that is totally unintelligible, they listen carefully for a moment before showing their disappointment
.

DIRECTOR
. Well?

LEADING MAN
. What’s she saying?

LEADING LADY
. You can’t hear a thing.

YOUNG ACTOR
. Louder! Louder!

STEPDAUGHTER
[
leaving
MADAME PACE
,
whose face wears a priceless smile, and coming down to the group of
ACTORS
]. Louder, eh. Louder? These are hardly things one can say out loud. I could say things aloud about
him
[
indicating the
FATHER
] to put him to shame
and get my revenge. But with Madame, it’s different, gentlemen: it could mean prison.

DIRECTOR
. Oh, fine! Is that the way it is? But here, my dear, you have to make yourself heard. We can’t hear you, and we’re on the stage. Just imagine when there’s an audience in the theatre. This scene has to be properly staged. And anyway, you can speak out loud to each other because we won’t be here to listen the way we are now. Pretend you’re alone in the room, at the back of the shop, where no one can hear you. [
The
STEPDAUGHTER
,
gracefully and with a malicious smile, wags her finger to say No
] Why not?

STEPDAUGHTER
[
in a muted mysterious tone
]. There’s someone who’ll hear us if she [
indicating
MADAME PACE
] speaks out loud.

DIRECTOR
[
very worried
]. You don’t mean someone else is going to pop up?

FATHER
. No, no, sir. She’s referring to me. I have to be there, waiting behind that door; and Madame knows it. In fact, if you allow me. I’d better go and be ready. [
Starts to go off
]

DIRECTOR
[
stopping him
]. No, wait. The stage has its rules. Before you get ready …

STEPDAUGHTER
[
interrupting him
]. Yes, right now, right now. I tell you I’m dying to live it, to live this scene. If he wants to start now, I’m more than ready.

DIRECTOR
[
shouting
]. But first we need to get clear this scene between you and that woman! [
Pointing to
MADAME PACE
] Can’t you understand?

STEPDAUGHTER
. Oh, for God’s sake, sir; she’s only been telling me what you already know—that Mother’s work is badly done yet again, that the dress is ruined, and that I shall need to be patient if I want her to keep helping us in our wretched state.

MADAME PACE
[
coming forward with a self-important air
]. That’s right, señor, porqué I no like take profit … make advantage …

DIRECTOR
[
sounding scared
]. What? Does she really talk like that?